Ferrari in pole, BMW in front row for Qatar 1812km

WECHyperCar

Feb 27

Ferrari #51 will start from pole tomorrow’s race at 2pm with #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 also in front row while both Cadillac V-Series.R are in the top 5.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. First: #51 Ferrari 499P (top); Second: BMW M Hybrid V8 (Bottom)

Antonio Giovinassi in pole with #51 Ferrari

Antonio Giovinazzi did set a 1:38.359 during Hyperpole with #51 Ferrari AF Corse’s #51 499P which will start the Qatar 1812 km from pole position. Giovinazzi’s fastest lap is 0.136 faster than last year’s pole lap from #5 Porsche in 1:39.347.

The Prancing Horse thus claims its fifth pole position since the Maranello manufacturer’s return to competition in the top class of endurance racing.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. #51 Ferrari 499P

Antonio Giovinazzi: “Starting from the front tomorrow here in Qatar is the result of the great teamwork we have done in recent days. I am thrilled and want to thank all my teammates and the team. In qualifying, I put together a strong lap, but I knew the challenge would be really tough in the decisive Hyperpole session, where I managed to improve and secure this fantastic result. We have an excellent car, and starting first and third is undoubtedly important, but the race will be very demanding, and we need to execute everything perfectly.”

BMW MHybrid V8 in front row

Dries Vanthoor secured a front-row seat with the #15 BMW M Team WRT M Hybrid V8 ending second the Hyperbole session.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. #15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8.

The second Ferrari 499P in P3

Antonio Fuoco got his #50 Ferrari 499P in P3 and will start from second row.

Antonio Fuoco: “We will start from the second row, which is a good position at the start of what will be a challenging race. Over the last few days, we have shown that we can be competitive, so the hope is to put in a strong performance in this first round of the season.“ Source: Ferrari

Both Cadillacs in P4 and P5

Strong start of season for Hertz Team JOTA with Cadillac V-Series.R as both Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R are very close to the top 3.

Alex Lynn, who topped the time sheet twice in testing and practice, recorded a best lap of 1:38.723 in the 10-minute Hyperpole qualifying session to earn the second-row start. Teammate Sebastien Bourdais toured the 5.38-kilometer, 16-turn Lusail International Circuit in 1:39.036 to qualify fifth.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R

Alex Lynn, #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R (qualified fourth in Hyperpole): “I think it’s a really solid start for the team in our first outing. We did really well from the first day of the Prologue and now we’re at the front, which is where we want to be. I think it’s going to be a super close race. I think that was the maximum we had. I think we’re both at the right end of the grid, which is what we’ve worked for. Our race pace is strong so I think we can do well.”

📷© Luc Warnotte at Lusail. #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais, #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R (qualified fifth in Hyperpole): “Overall, a strong result for the team for our first qualifying together. It’s a long day ahead of us tomorrow, so hopefully we can have a strong, clean day and bring home the result that comes our way. At the end of the day, I’m sure there will be a biut of a different pecking order. I think the car has been sensibly quick on long runs, so hopefully we can set toward the front and then hope that others make mistakes and we don’t. I think Alex probably got as much as there is in the car. I struggled to get a feel for the balance and optimize the lap. It seemed to get away from me a bit unexpectedly the front taking off and very hard not to overshoot.” Source; Cadillac Racing

Qatar 1812 km schedule.

The race starts at 2pm (midday CET) on Friday 28 February.